Simon Friederich
@simonfriederich.bsky.social
Philosopher of science at University of Groningen; quantum foundations, philosophy of technology
Statement that, as things stand, superintelligence should not be developed: superintelligence-statement.org
I have signed.
I have signed.
Statement on Superintelligence
“We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is (1) broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and (2) strong public bu...
superintelligence-statement.org
October 24, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Statement that, as things stand, superintelligence should not be developed: superintelligence-statement.org
I have signed.
I have signed.
Yes, and 2. is correct, even though I often wish it was false.
There are basically only two positions in the debate about AI.
1. I’ve barely invested any time in learning how to use it effectively. AI sucks.
2. I’ve invested in learning how to use this tool. Holy cow, it’s transformational.
Position #1 has lower barriers to entry.
1. I’ve barely invested any time in learning how to use it effectively. AI sucks.
2. I’ve invested in learning how to use this tool. Holy cow, it’s transformational.
Position #1 has lower barriers to entry.
October 17, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Yes, and 2. is correct, even though I often wish it was false.
Reposted by Simon Friederich
@leol.bsky.social reageerde zaterdag in NRC samen met zijn broer op mijn opiniestuk van een week ervoor. Helaas voldoet zijn betoog niet aan serieuze standaarden voor goed debat – en dat is geen incident. Lees hier mijn reactie op Substack: open.substack.com/pub/hofhuis/...
Leo Lucassen en de grenzen van eerlijk debat
Mijn repliek op Lucassens NRC-opinie en wat dit zegt over het migratiedebat
open.substack.com
October 2, 2025 at 1:06 PM
@leol.bsky.social reageerde zaterdag in NRC samen met zijn broer op mijn opiniestuk van een week ervoor. Helaas voldoet zijn betoog niet aan serieuze standaarden voor goed debat – en dat is geen incident. Lees hier mijn reactie op Substack: open.substack.com/pub/hofhuis/...
Reposted by Simon Friederich
The EU wants to ban words like “burger” + “sausage” from plant-based foods. So get ready for “protein tubes” + “alternative discs.” 🙃 Nobody’s confused — except Brussels. Consumers + the planet deserve better. #NoConfusion
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Will the EU now ban 'sausage' and 'burger' from plant-based alternatives?
Could Europe get any dumber?
substack.com
October 1, 2025 at 9:56 AM
The EU wants to ban words like “burger” + “sausage” from plant-based foods. So get ready for “protein tubes” + “alternative discs.” 🙃 Nobody’s confused — except Brussels. Consumers + the planet deserve better. #NoConfusion
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Simon Friederich
🚨 Next week the EU votes on banning words like burger, sausage & chicken from plant-based foods.
This is nothing short of government engaging in cartel behaviour with the meat industry right as we need to transition away from animal agriculture to fix the climate crisis.
Act now!
This is nothing short of government engaging in cartel behaviour with the meat industry right as we need to transition away from animal agriculture to fix the climate crisis.
Act now!
Stop the EU’s Ban on “Meaty” Words for Plant-Based Foods
Sign now
weplanet.yourmovement.org
September 29, 2025 at 11:17 AM
🚨 Next week the EU votes on banning words like burger, sausage & chicken from plant-based foods.
This is nothing short of government engaging in cartel behaviour with the meat industry right as we need to transition away from animal agriculture to fix the climate crisis.
Act now!
This is nothing short of government engaging in cartel behaviour with the meat industry right as we need to transition away from animal agriculture to fix the climate crisis.
Act now!
Reposted by Simon Friederich
I just got a copy of this new book from Emily Adlam (with whom I did my masters, so this is the first book I'm reading written by a former classmate!). I'm going to try the thing where I tweet about it as I go.
global.oup.com
September 10, 2025 at 4:31 AM
I just got a copy of this new book from Emily Adlam (with whom I did my masters, so this is the first book I'm reading written by a former classmate!). I'm going to try the thing where I tweet about it as I go.
AGI is not inevitable, and if you are American, you may consider getting active to stop its development.
Great piece by @garrisonlovely.bsky.social.
In contrast, crying "AI hype" makes people complacent and only plays into the hands of the industry.
Great piece by @garrisonlovely.bsky.social.
In contrast, crying "AI hype" makes people complacent and only plays into the hands of the industry.
Artificial general intelligence is not inevitable.
My latest for The Guardian challenges one of the most popular claims made about AGI.
Among those who believe AGI is possible, it's common to think it's unstoppable, whether you're excited or terrified of the prospect 🧵
My latest for The Guardian challenges one of the most popular claims made about AGI.
Among those who believe AGI is possible, it's common to think it's unstoppable, whether you're excited or terrified of the prospect 🧵
July 28, 2025 at 6:30 PM
AGI is not inevitable, and if you are American, you may consider getting active to stop its development.
Great piece by @garrisonlovely.bsky.social.
In contrast, crying "AI hype" makes people complacent and only plays into the hands of the industry.
Great piece by @garrisonlovely.bsky.social.
In contrast, crying "AI hype" makes people complacent and only plays into the hands of the industry.
Again, so much for "AI hype":
An OpenAI experimental reasoning LLM has performed at gold medal level at the International Math Olympiad (IMO):
x.com/alexwei_/sta...
(To be clear, I personally find this quite depressing.)
An OpenAI experimental reasoning LLM has performed at gold medal level at the International Math Olympiad (IMO):
x.com/alexwei_/sta...
(To be clear, I personally find this quite depressing.)
Alexander Wei on X: "1/N I’m excited to share that our latest @OpenAI experimental reasoning LLM has achieved a longstanding grand challenge in AI: gold medal-level performance on the world’s most prestigious math competition—the International Math Olympiad (IMO). https://t.co/SG3k6EknaC" / X
1/N I’m excited to share that our latest @OpenAI experimental reasoning LLM has achieved a longstanding grand challenge in AI: gold medal-level performance on the world’s most prestigious math competition—the International Math Olympiad (IMO). https://t.co/SG3k6EknaC
x.com
July 19, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Again, so much for "AI hype":
An OpenAI experimental reasoning LLM has performed at gold medal level at the International Math Olympiad (IMO):
x.com/alexwei_/sta...
(To be clear, I personally find this quite depressing.)
An OpenAI experimental reasoning LLM has performed at gold medal level at the International Math Olympiad (IMO):
x.com/alexwei_/sta...
(To be clear, I personally find this quite depressing.)
So much for "hype":
'Ono says. “I don’t want to add to the hysteria, but in some ways these large language models are already outperforming most of our best graduate students in the world.”'
www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi...
'Ono says. “I don’t want to add to the hysteria, but in some ways these large language models are already outperforming most of our best graduate students in the world.”'
www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi...
Inside the Secret Meeting Where Mathematicians Struggled to Outsmart AI
The world's leading mathematicians were stunned by how adept artificial intelligence is at doing their jobs
www.scientificamerican.com
June 13, 2025 at 9:51 AM
So much for "hype":
'Ono says. “I don’t want to add to the hysteria, but in some ways these large language models are already outperforming most of our best graduate students in the world.”'
www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi...
'Ono says. “I don’t want to add to the hysteria, but in some ways these large language models are already outperforming most of our best graduate students in the world.”'
www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi...
Reposted by Simon Friederich
Nodig is: minder inkomensverschillen, meer ontmoeting in de publieke ruimte en meer onbevangenheid, aldus @tkupp.bsky.social @rug.nl #werkaandewinkel
June 3, 2025 at 6:45 AM
Nodig is: minder inkomensverschillen, meer ontmoeting in de publieke ruimte en meer onbevangenheid, aldus @tkupp.bsky.social @rug.nl #werkaandewinkel
The AI revolution is underhyped -- perhaps not everywhere, but certainly on Bluesky.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=id4Y...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=id4Y...
The AI Revolution Is Underhyped | Eric Schmidt | TED
YouTube video by TED
www.youtube.com
May 16, 2025 at 10:05 AM
The AI revolution is underhyped -- perhaps not everywhere, but certainly on Bluesky.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=id4Y...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=id4Y...
New paper, in Ergo: To the extent that we are sometimes cluelessness about the more indirect consequences of our actions, this speaks against a longtermist orientation, not in favour: journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article...
(The thesis may seem banal, but Hilary Greaves argued the opposite.)
(The thesis may seem banal, but Hilary Greaves argued the opposite.)
Causation, Cluelessness, and the Long Term
Agents are said to be “clueless” if they are unable to predict some ethically important consequences of their actions. Some philosophers have argued that such “cluelessness'' is widespread and creates...
journals.publishing.umich.edu
May 14, 2025 at 2:56 PM
New paper, in Ergo: To the extent that we are sometimes cluelessness about the more indirect consequences of our actions, this speaks against a longtermist orientation, not in favour: journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article...
(The thesis may seem banal, but Hilary Greaves argued the opposite.)
(The thesis may seem banal, but Hilary Greaves argued the opposite.)
Reposted by Simon Friederich
It seems to me that as educators we will have to do two things
1 Do evaluations of students without AI (paper and pencil tests)
2 Teach students how to use AI to be more productive
The notion that we can totally shun AI in higher ed when it will be so important is misguided.
1 Do evaluations of students without AI (paper and pencil tests)
2 Teach students how to use AI to be more productive
The notion that we can totally shun AI in higher ed when it will be so important is misguided.
May 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
It seems to me that as educators we will have to do two things
1 Do evaluations of students without AI (paper and pencil tests)
2 Teach students how to use AI to be more productive
The notion that we can totally shun AI in higher ed when it will be so important is misguided.
1 Do evaluations of students without AI (paper and pencil tests)
2 Teach students how to use AI to be more productive
The notion that we can totally shun AI in higher ed when it will be so important is misguided.
Are there any other academics here on Bluesky who are also very worried about AI, in particular AI-driven power concentration, who do *not* think that the technology is overhyped?
May 14, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Are there any other academics here on Bluesky who are also very worried about AI, in particular AI-driven power concentration, who do *not* think that the technology is overhyped?
Reposted by Simon Friederich
For academics that are skeptical about AI's ability to provide perceptive & useful results, a fast way to test your assumptions is to give one of your papers as a PDF to o3 (or Gemini 2.5 but it lacks some tools), with the prompt:
"critique this paper"
I have found very good accuracy & insight...
"critique this paper"
I have found very good accuracy & insight...
May 11, 2025 at 1:56 AM
For academics that are skeptical about AI's ability to provide perceptive & useful results, a fast way to test your assumptions is to give one of your papers as a PDF to o3 (or Gemini 2.5 but it lacks some tools), with the prompt:
"critique this paper"
I have found very good accuracy & insight...
"critique this paper"
I have found very good accuracy & insight...
Fantastic piece by @ednewtonrex.bsky.social:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
AI companies aim at automating the entire economy, preparing to take away all our bargaining power.
They may well succeed unless we coordinate to impose restrictions on AI capabilities.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
AI companies aim at automating the entire economy, preparing to take away all our bargaining power.
They may well succeed unless we coordinate to impose restrictions on AI capabilities.
For Silicon Valley, AI isn’t just about replacing some jobs. It’s about replacing all of them | Ed Newton-Rex
AI will do the thinking, robots will do the doing. What place do humans have in this arrangement – and do tech CEOs care? says Ed Newton-Rex, founder of Fairly Trained
www.theguardian.com
May 12, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Fantastic piece by @ednewtonrex.bsky.social:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
AI companies aim at automating the entire economy, preparing to take away all our bargaining power.
They may well succeed unless we coordinate to impose restrictions on AI capabilities.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
AI companies aim at automating the entire economy, preparing to take away all our bargaining power.
They may well succeed unless we coordinate to impose restrictions on AI capabilities.
Bluesky is a much nicer environment than X, but the AI conversations seem much more superficial here. The very stimulating new contributions on AI as normal technology, gradual disempowerment, and the intelligence curse, to name just a few, have been discussed more lively on X. Very sad.
May 8, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Bluesky is a much nicer environment than X, but the AI conversations seem much more superficial here. The very stimulating new contributions on AI as normal technology, gradual disempowerment, and the intelligence curse, to name just a few, have been discussed more lively on X. Very sad.
Reposted by Simon Friederich
Unsolicited advice for making progress in quantum foundations:
1) If there were a gentle tweak or simple idea that would make clear sense of quantum theory, beyond the for-all-practical-purposes-level, it would certainly have been found by now.
1) If there were a gentle tweak or simple idea that would make clear sense of quantum theory, beyond the for-all-practical-purposes-level, it would certainly have been found by now.
May 6, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Unsolicited advice for making progress in quantum foundations:
1) If there were a gentle tweak or simple idea that would make clear sense of quantum theory, beyond the for-all-practical-purposes-level, it would certainly have been found by now.
1) If there were a gentle tweak or simple idea that would make clear sense of quantum theory, beyond the for-all-practical-purposes-level, it would certainly have been found by now.
Reposted by Simon Friederich
Waar is de tijd dat progressieven nog in vooruitgang en verlichting geloofden! Zoals Kamagurka ooit zei: "Vroeger was de toekomst beter". Maar tegenwoordig is 'vooruitgang' bijna een vies woord voor links. Hoog tijd voor een progressieve beweging die haar naam wél weer waarmaakt! Nu in de winkel.
April 20, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Waar is de tijd dat progressieven nog in vooruitgang en verlichting geloofden! Zoals Kamagurka ooit zei: "Vroeger was de toekomst beter". Maar tegenwoordig is 'vooruitgang' bijna een vies woord voor links. Hoog tijd voor een progressieve beweging die haar naam wél weer waarmaakt! Nu in de winkel.
Reposted by Simon Friederich
In our latest editorial, we express our sincere thanks to Guido Bacciagaluppi for his editorial work since 2021 & bid him a fond farewell as he concludes his tenure. We also warmly welcome @simonfriederich.bsky.social as our new Co-Editor-in-Chief! link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #philsky
April 8, 2025 at 10:42 PM
In our latest editorial, we express our sincere thanks to Guido Bacciagaluppi for his editorial work since 2021 & bid him a fond farewell as he concludes his tenure. We also warmly welcome @simonfriederich.bsky.social as our new Co-Editor-in-Chief! link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #philsky
Reposted by Simon Friederich
Latest version of my work on entanglement with @kenwharton.bsky.social. We propose that entanglement is a kind of selection artefact. This was a talk at @griffith.edu.au, and the slides are accessible here: bit.ly/4h9dMeo
#philsky #PhilSci #quantum #entanglement
#philsky #PhilSci #quantum #entanglement
A Mechanism for Entanglement?
YouTube video by The Quietist
www.youtube.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Latest version of my work on entanglement with @kenwharton.bsky.social. We propose that entanglement is a kind of selection artefact. This was a talk at @griffith.edu.au, and the slides are accessible here: bit.ly/4h9dMeo
#philsky #PhilSci #quantum #entanglement
#philsky #PhilSci #quantum #entanglement
Reposted by Simon Friederich
Toen Don’t look up uitkwam bedacht ik hoe de metafoor tot vervelens toe misbruikt zou worden in opiniestukken. Ik keek neer op mijn toekomstige zelf.
Is er nog íémand bekommerd om de gevaren van AI? www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20250...
Is er nog íémand bekommerd om de gevaren van AI? www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20250...
Is er nog íémand bekommerd om de gevaren van AI?
Op de AI-veiligheidconferentie was niemand bezig met de gevaren van AI. Alles was pr en machtsstrijd. Het doet Vincent Ginis denken aan de film Don’t look up.
www.standaard.be
February 16, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Toen Don’t look up uitkwam bedacht ik hoe de metafoor tot vervelens toe misbruikt zou worden in opiniestukken. Ik keek neer op mijn toekomstige zelf.
Is er nog íémand bekommerd om de gevaren van AI? www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20250...
Is er nog íémand bekommerd om de gevaren van AI? www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20250...
Reposted by Simon Friederich
Elon Musk’s terrifying vision for AI; short, urgent new piece at Marcus on AI.
I can’t remain silent - and hope you won’t, either.
open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
I can’t remain silent - and hope you won’t, either.
open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
Elon Musk’s terrifying vision for AI
All your thoughts belong to him
open.substack.com
February 16, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Elon Musk’s terrifying vision for AI; short, urgent new piece at Marcus on AI.
I can’t remain silent - and hope you won’t, either.
open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
I can’t remain silent - and hope you won’t, either.
open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
Reposted by Simon Friederich
Just published in the Cambridge Elements of Philosophy of Physics: Foundations of General Relativity, by Sam Fletcher!
Open access for two weeks. Get it for free while you can!
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Open access for two weeks. Get it for free while you can!
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Foundations of General Relativity
Cambridge Core - Philosophy: General Interest - Foundations of General Relativity
www.cambridge.org
November 26, 2024 at 1:44 PM
Just published in the Cambridge Elements of Philosophy of Physics: Foundations of General Relativity, by Sam Fletcher!
Open access for two weeks. Get it for free while you can!
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Open access for two weeks. Get it for free while you can!
www.cambridge.org/core/element...